the met office says this is part of a global pattern.high pressure "centres" dominating the northern hemisphere's weather over the past couple of months. this image shows them at the end of last month. the red colour shows how much hotter it is than normal. the high pressure over the us is why some 100 million americans have been enduring temperatures over 38 celsius. the weather has been even more extreme in iran and iraq. it's been up to 50 celsius on an almost daily basis in baghdad in the last two weeks. and high—pressure overjapan explains why it has also been enduring some record temperatures. now, the weather has been particularly brutal because the high—pressure systems have been locked in place by waves in the jet stream. the jet stream is a fast—flowing current of air high in the atmosphere. when it is really dry, these waves can sit in place for days, even weeks, meaning itjust gets hotter and hotter. and there is some tentative evidence that suggests this pattern of "blocked" weather could be becoming more pronounced because

— temperatures set to rise and the met office has an extreme _ temperatures set to rise and the met nd and east wales from thursday till sunday. i in sport, the beginning of the end for serena williams as she suggests she'll retire from tennis after the us open as she plans to evolve away from the sport. and a final push for rugby union's ed slater as he starts the final leg of his 350—mile bike ride to raise awareness of mnd. it's wednesday, the 10th of august. our main story. households owe more money to their energy supplier than ever before, with bills set to rise even further in october. a survey by the comparison site uswitch has found the overall debt is already three times higher than it was a year ago. nina's here to talk us through the details. the debt is going up while wholesale suppliers and our suppliers are making money. we learned this morning that eon — one of the uk's main energy suppliers — so the businesses to whom we pay our bills — made a profit of £3.47 billion. that is a lot of money. they will say this is a global business, it's a 15% decline, we are investin

warnings of increased risk of fires as the met office issues a four—day amber warning for extreme temperatures parts of england and wales which could reach 36 degrees celsius. meanwhile, thames water says it plans to announce a hosepipe ban "in the coming weeks" students across scotland receive their exam results. the pass rate is down compared with the previous two years of covid pandemic measures, but remain above 2019 levels. former us president donald trump says the fbi raided his florida home and broke into his safe. his son says agents were looking for documents taken from washington when his father left office. the trial of former wales manager and manchester united footballer ryan giggs continues today. he's accused of attacking and coercively controlling his ex—girlfriend, charges he denies. # you're the one that i want...# stars and fans from around the world pay tribute to dame olivia newton—john, one of the most iconic musical artists of all time, who has died at the age of 73. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. annual energy bills could hit £4,200 in the new year for a typica

the met office alert for southern, central and some of northern england and also parts of wales runsday. the met office has also issued its highest alert for what is known as �*fire severity�* over the weekend and it's expected that a drought will be officially declared tomorrow. these are the high temperatures stretching to the north of england and into scotland, although the north of scotland is much cooler. campbell reports. earlier today in west sussex, one of two fires which destroyed acres of crops. two fires which destroyed acres of cro 5. ~ , ,., y two fires which destroyed acres of cros. n, , ., two fires which destroyed acres of cros. n, y ., two fires which destroyed acres of cros. , ., crops. absolutely nothing you can do. it's crops. absolutely nothing you can d0- it'sjust _ crops. absolutely nothing you can d0- it'sjust on — crops. absolutely nothing you can do. it'sjust on fire. _ crops. absolutely nothing you can do. it'sjust on fire. in _ crops. absolutely nothing you can do. it'sjust on fire. in east - do. it'sjust on fire. in east london. — do. it'sjust on fire. in

the extreme heat warning that has been issued from the met office is there to make... —— magga as thinktle and it is with us between there and sunday. clearly the heat affects the vulnerable, that is pretty obvious to some of us but also you might bejumping on the train and travelling across the country and quite often, these sorts of temperatures in the mid—30s can affect the network. we can see delays. i'm not saying it will happen this time but it makes us prepared for that eventuality, something you might want to factor in and fire incidents are that much higher as well when you get the dizzy heights. but not today, today it sort of more of a typical hot summers day, 30 degrees at so in the south. tomorrow, temperatures start at around 15 degrees in the south. in stornoway also around 15 degrees and sunshine right from the word go. i think again tomorrow, we are talking mostly about the low 30s across some central and southern parts of england and wales. but notice already newcastle up to 27, belfast, 26, so getting quite a lot in parts of the north as well. on thursday, that is whe

the the met office is saying and what it all means. ., , the met office is saying and what it all meanst _ all means. the amber warning is there to highlight how _ all means. the amber warning is there to highlight how we - all means. the amber warning isj there to highlight how we should prepare, it's obvious, vulnerable people suffer from the heat, heat exhaustion, fatigue and things that are necessarily —— aren't necessarily obvious. you may want to travel to the coast to catch some pressure weather. affecting rail networks in the bc people stuck and in the peak of train stations and were not going to see if definitely going to happen but we are saying is at least in this, temperatures at these levels, 35 in the six celsius, certain networks cannot cope with that very well. it's not the optimal whether to run services at these values that's what it means, with dry conditions, we should be really careful and parts with some of us having barbecues out and parks and with these dry conditions, the risks of fires breaking out is that much higher and we saw that last time with devastating

this will be decided with information from the met office | with information from the met office by governmentd you get these heavy downpours, most likely into next week, although it some part in the north and west of the uk will have them on the sunday, there will be lots of run—off from the ground because it is so hard and so dry that it won't go anywhere in terms of easing the drought because the ground is just too dry for it to absorb all of the water. the uk is not alone in experiencing extreme heat — a number of european countries have seen record temperatures, with deadly wildfires and droughts across the continent. let's hearfrom our europe correspondent bethany bell, who's in france. we're very, very close to the zone where some of those fires are blazing right now. we hear and an area where we've seen firefighters from germany and as far away as romania arriving to help the thousand or more french firefighters who have been struggling to bring these huge blazes under control. i spoke just a short time ago to a french official from the french fire brigade, and she said this fire was e

the amber weather warning is in force from the met office for extreme heat.ern wales and that is valid until the end of the day on sunday. 27 or 28 celsius in

amber warning uk and in fact, there's a met office amberwarning in uk and in fact, there's a met officeand as well as manchester and sheffield and read through parts of devon and cornwall in eastern wales through thursday to the end of the day on sunday. now, we will not see the exceptional temperatures that we saw back injuly but a sustained period of heat and nights in between already warmer tonight, period of heat and nights in between already warmertonight, it's period of heat and nights in between already warmer tonight, it's not hot everywhere. into the west of scotland. clear skies and temperatures in the mid teens may be a bit towards the east coast and submit in the low cloud and down to the thames valley as well. no one thursday, we still of the optics of rain towards the western aisles and into northern areas of scotland but for most of us, it is blue sky and sunshine but shorter towards the east coast and temperatures to the mid 30s and parts of the mittens potentially tomorrow. and all that hot air moving in from the near continent from the easterly wind and the chance of a

the met office has an amber extreme heat warning _ met office has an amber extreme heat warning in— metres climbing up into the mid 20s and high 20s for many and the low— mid 20s and high 20s for many and the tow 30s— mid 20s and high 20s for many and the low 30s to the mid 30s as we come _ the low 30s to the mid 30s as we come further south. as we head through— come further south. as we head through the evening and overnight we see missed _ through the evening and overnight we see missed and low cloud in from the north— see missed and low cloud in from the north sea _ see missed and low cloud in from the north sea alongside the english coast _ north sea alongside the english coast and the scottish coast as well and we _ coast and the scottish coast as well and we still will have a weather front _ and we still will have a weather front draped across parts of northern _ front draped across parts of northern and western scotland introducing rain at times and low ctoud _ introducing rain at times and low cloud across parts of the coast of northern — cloud across parts of the coast of north

the met office hasissued in england and wales.lysts warn that annual bills in england, scotland and wales could increase to more than £4,200 in january next year. warnings of increased risk of fires as the met office issues a four—day amber warning for extreme temperatures in parts of england and wales which could reach 36 degrees celsius. former us president donald trump says the fbi raided his florida home and broke into his safe. his son says agents were looking for documents taken from washington when his father left office. meta announces a global campaign to start in the uk for whatsapp users who will be able to leave group chats silently and control other privacy feaures. tributes are being paid from around the world to dame olivia newton—john, who has died of cancer aged 73. the iconic singer and actress was best known for playing sandy in grease, one of the most successful film musicals ever made. her co—starjohn travolta has described her impact as "incredible". let's take a look at some of the tributes on social media.

no surprise then that the met office hasissued surprise then that the met office has issued the ambernorth as leeds and manchester. this comes into force on till sunday and is for the stream heat through the day and in comfortable nights. you will notice the nights are getting more comfortable and warm over the next few days. we have actually had some cool nights with the heat that has been building, so no more of that. so with no respite from the heatly plants cannot recover and grounds cannot recover so we have been hearing a lot from farmers, so when is this expected to break down, we have all done coming, but when will this particular weather breakdown? there are signs of the rappers are coming in after this four days. coming off the back of a dry winter and a dry spring, the driestjuly on record for southern areas. there is no surprise that it is tinder dry out there. even later on sunday and into monday as low pressure starts to work its way in we could see some more cloud around and some showers, not expecting a band of rain on a weather front that brings us arrows of persisten

the met office says this is part of a global pattern.them at the end of last month. the red colour shows how much hotter it is than normal. the high pressure over the us is why some 100 million americans have been enduring temperatures over 38 celsius. the weather has been even more extreme in iran and iraq. numberfour there. it's been up to 50 celsius on an almost daily basis in baghdad in the last two weeks. and high pressure overjapan, number 5, explains why it has also been enduring some record temperatures. now, the weather has been particularly brutal because the high pressure systems are locked in place by waves in the jet stream. you can see them there. the jet stream is the fast—flowing air current high in the atmosphere. when it is really dry, as it is now, these waves can sit in place for days or even weeks, meaning itjust gets hotter and hotter. and there is some tentative evidence that suggests this pattern of blocked weather is becoming more common because of climate change. now look at this. the high pressure systems are m

it is areas covered by the met office amber warning for extreme heat where the highest impact will be to health and transport but it will be hot across most parts of the country. high pressure is firmly in charge. the biggest exception to this story remains the north of scotland. weather fronts continue to wriggle round and heavy rain to come through the night. temperatures not dropping away too much, 13 or 1a degrees. but we have something more comfortable, single figure temperatures across scotland, northern ireland and northern england and rural parts, starting to get warmer into the south. sunny start in sunny day for many. it exception is northern scotland. the case of rain coming and going through the western isles in the western isles and 0rkney and shetland. heavy bursts and temperatures 15 to 18 degrees. under the sunny weather, temperatures will lift to 27, 20 eight celsius in eastern scotland, 27 may be across northern ireland again. going to be cooler around the eastern coasts with the breeze coming in off the sea but we could see temperatures 36 celsius towards parts of t

what we have at the moment is an amber met office extreme heat weather warning. is an amber met officen to your travel arrangements. but what we have today is a lot of dry weather, a lot of strong sunshine. out towards the west eventually some of the sunshine will turn hazy as the weather front approaches bringing in thicker cloud and later again, some rain. here we have gusty winds so temperature is a little lower but widely we are looking at the mid 20s to the low 30s. as we head on through the evening and overnight, still a lot of dry weather in clear skies. some patchy mist and fog clearing. the weather front draped across north and west of scotland bringing in some rain which will be heavy at times and looking at a mild night for the most part. temperatures falling away between 9—17 in cardiff. so it will become increasingly more uncomfortable for sleeping. high pressure remains in charge of the weather over the next few days, drifting eastwards, pulling in some of the very warm hot continental air and effectively keeping weather fronts at bay across the north—west of scotland. so

but one more day of that extreme heat and the met office weather warning which extends all the way upe. some thunderstorms around today but wet weather out towards northern ireland and scotland, some flashes of lightning already, but, for most, the heat and sunshine continues, high cloud in the south, temperatures for some could get as high as 34—35. 0vernight tonight, still warm and uncomfortable for sleeping. some showery rain in western wales and the south—west of england, otherwise dry, temperatures dipping to the mid to high teens for many. so a warm start again tomorrow morning. but more showers around on monday, the thunderstorms particularly across england and wales will be hit and miss, some places are staying dry. quite high rainfall totals could lead to some localised surface water flooding. hello, this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines... a group of charities and community organisations have called the rises in energy bills a "national emergency" as labour is to call for the energy price cap to be frozen in october. the energy minister says their plan won't work. t

the met office told us this morning that we _ the met office told us this morning that we will see stormsand some of the demand for water— heat and some of the demand for water but — heat and some of the demand for water but it will not be enough. farmers — water but it will not be enough. farmers need water to take their crops— farmers need water to take their crops out— farmers need water to take their crops out of the ground for the rest of the _ crops out of the ground for the rest of the year— crops out of the ground for the rest of the year and we need a lot of water— of the year and we need a lot of water and — of the year and we need a lot of water and ground water levels and that means we need probably above average _ that means we need probably above average rainfall for autumn and the rest of— average rainfall for autumn and the rest of the — average rainfall for autumn and the rest of the winter. to average rainfall for autumn and the rest of the winter.— rest of the winter. to put this into context in terms _ rest of the winter. to put this into context in terms of _ rest of

but the forecast from the met office is offering no guarantees of that.ng next week. we expect to see some heavy showers and thunderstorms potential there. not everywhere is going to get that rainfall. a lot of places are going to miss it, but at least there's a chance next week. so a chance of rain for some, which means there's only one thing farmers like david can do... they've got to hope for the best, that's all they've got left. justin rowlatt, bbc news, gloucestershire. respect believed to have destroyed 40% of the oil depo there~ — destroyed 40% of the oil depo there a— destroyed 40% of the oil depo there. a lightning strike last week— there. a lightning strike last week caused one of the fuel tanks — week caused one of the fuel tanks to— week caused one of the fuel tanks to late on fire which then— then spread to other tanks. efforts_ then spread to other tanks. efforts to bring some of the fires under control our ongoing. the 1970s exodus of ugandan asians is well documented. they were fleeing from dictator idi amin who ordered them to leave the

. - but the forecast from the met office is offering no guarantees of that.t to see some heavy showers and thunderstorms l potential there. not everywhere is going to get that rainfall. - a lot of places are going to miss it, but at least. there's a chance next week. so a chance of rain for some, which means there's only one thing farmers like david can do... they've got to hope for the best, that's all they've got left. justin rowlatt, bbc news, gloucestershire. i want to turn now to a special report for you. the 1970s exodus of ugandan asians is well documented. they were fleeing from dictator idi amin, who ordered them to leave the country within 90 days and accused them of "milking" uganda's money. thousands were displaced and many forced to emigrate to the uk, including manju patel and her husband, who arrived in london with just their two young boys. now 85, manju has seen her dream come true, and today, she and her sons run one of uk's most popular and award—winning indian vegetarian restaurants. gaggan saberwal has their story. meet 85—year—old manju

but the forecast from the met office is offering no guarantees of that.heavy showers and thunderstorms potential there. not everywhere is going to get that rainfall. a lot of places are going to miss it, but at least there's a chance next week. so a chance of rain for some, which means there's only one thing farmers like david can do... they've got to hope for the best, that's all they've got left. justin rowlatt, bbc news, gloucestershire. the news, gloucestershire. japanese text john the news, gloucestershire. japanese textjohn softban sees the japanese textjohn softbank seesit the japanese textjohn softbank sees it hopes to make $34 million by reducing its stake in the chinese company alli babar. it marks a step back from the huge investment made in thousands by the chief executive. ali barber is one of china's biggest countries but has lost a third of its profit hit by the beijing crackdown on the tech sector. the 1970s exodus of ugandan asians is well documented. they were fleeing persecution at the hands of the then ugandan dictator, idi amin. he or

but the forecast from the met office is offering no guarantees of that.owers and thunderstorms potential there. not everywhere is going to get that rainfall. a lot of places are going to miss it, but at least there's a chance next week. so a chance of rain for some, which means there's only one thing farmers like david can do... they've got to hope for the best, that's all they've got left. justin rowlatt, bbc news, gloucestershire. the 1970s exodus of ugandan asians is well documented. they were fleeing persecutation at the hands of the then ugandan dictator, idi amin. he ordered them to leave the country within 90 days and accused them of milking uganda's money. thousands were displaced, and many forced to emigrate to the uk. among them was manju patel and her husband who arrived in london with their two young boys. now 85, manju has seen her dream come true, and today, she and her sons run one of uk's most popular and award—winning indian restaurants. gaggan saberwal has their story. meet 85—year—old manju patel. manju owns and runs one of the uk's mos

there is also a met office warning as well.well, temperatures dipping to the mid to high teens in celsius so uncomfortable again for sleeping. this is monday, showers across northern ireland, moving into scotland and elsewhere mostly dry start but shall spring up through the afternoon, heavy infantry in nature, someplace is staying dry, warm, particularly towards the south—east. but even here temperatures will dip through the week. hello, this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines... a group of charities and community organisations have called the rises in energy bills a "national emergency" as labour is to call for the energy price cap to be frozen in october.

but the forecast from the met office is offering no guarantees of that.avy showers and thunderstorms potential there. not everywhere is going to get that rainfall. a lot of places are going to miss it, but at least there's a chance next week. so a chance of rain for some, which means there's only one thing farmers like david can do... they've got to hope for the best, that's all they've got left. justin rowlatt, bbc news, gloucestershire. the japanese tech giant softbank says it expects to make thirty four billion dollars by reducing its stake in the chinese e—commerce company alibaba. the move marks a step back from the huge investmest made in 2000 by softbank�*s chief executive. alibaba is one of china's biggest companies, but has lost more than two—thirds of its value from its peak in late 2020, hit by beijing's crackdown on the tech sector. a bbc investigation has revealed systematic abuse and torture inside russia's prison system. former inmates have spoken to the bbc about being raped and tortured. leaked footage of the abuse was circulated by an in

. - but the forecast from the met office is offering no guarantees of that.avy showers i and thunderstorms potential there. i not everywhere is going to get that rainfall. - a lot of places are going to miss it, but at least there's _ a chance next week. so a chance of rain for some, which means there's only one thing farmers like david can do... they've got to hope for the best, that's all they've got left. justin rowlatt, bbc news, gloucestershire. the author and illustrator, raymond briggs, best known for the immensely popular children's book the snowman, has died at the age of 88. as a young man he worked as a commercial artist, before moving on to illustrating children's books. but he was so unhappy with the standard of writing in some of the works, that he decided to try his hand at being an author. our arts correspondent david silito looks back at his life. it's become part of christmas — the story of a snowman who comes to life. magical, heart—warming, and at the end, the snowman melts. # we're walking in the air # a very raymond briggs twist. he was

the amber weather warning is in force from the met office for extreme heat.t covers manchester, leeds and sheffield and into eastern wales and thatis sheffield and into eastern wales and that is valid until the end of the day on sunday. 27 or 28 celsius in parts of aberdeenshire, northern ireland may be. temperatures into the late 30s, 33 or 30 full celsius in parts of the midlands and west london. it is not hot everywhere, whether friends zow towards the north—west of scotland, outbreaks of rain here overnight. 0therwise, clear skies and it is a warmer night than last night. some places a tropical night, lows of around 19 or 20 celsius in parts of south—east wales and the south coast of england. this hot air coming in from the near continent on a strengthening easterly breeze on friday. because of the easterly wind it could send low cloud lapping fenati facing coast tomorrow, limiting the temperature here somewhat. it is still cool and cloudy for the north—west of scotland, but for most, blue skies, high temperatures and they will be rising. maybe 3a, 35 in

the met office says southern england had its driest the met office says southern england had its driestords that began in 1836. i've come to the fire station in wennington to speak to its commander, graham beers. graham, you've been in the fire service for almost 20 years. have you ever had a day quite like the 19th ofjuly? no, 19th ofjuly was just something out of the ordinary. i've been to many grass fires within my 19—year career but the 19th ofjuly, it wasjust something, you know, that i've never experienced before in my career. so, here in wennington, talk me through what happened. i was in another severe incident near rainham but i was getting reports that a fire had broken out in wennington and it had actually started affecting the properties. i then attended, went in to see the devastation and one of the things that, actually, i was very shocked about is, as you can see from here, how close we was to losing the fire station. it's come within about two foot of the diesel tank, the station itself. so, we're actually standing next to 5,000 litres of diesel just here and you can see

_ thundery, but once again the met office has— thundery, but once again the met office has a yellow lerwick, 17 in edinburgh, 25 in london. from tuesday— edinburgh, 25 in london. from tuesday into wednesday, you can see how our— tuesday into wednesday, you can see how our weather front is still here, waving _ how our weather front is still here, waving across the north of the country. — waving across the north of the country, and this was still across the south — country, and this was still across the south, but we start to import a ridge _ the south, but we start to import a ridge of— the south, but we start to import a ridge of high pressure across the north— ridge of high pressure across the north west. for scotland and northern— north west. for scotland and northern ireland, we are looking at drier conditions. more cloud at times— drier conditions. more cloud at times but— drier conditions. more cloud at times but we still have all these thunderstorms coming up across southern — thunderstorms coming up across southern areas, and some could be intense _ southern areas, and some c

the met office amber warning is in place for the next four days, with the heat expected to affect waters, farming and wildlife. in france, there's been a resurgence of wildfires in the south—west of the country. more on that in a moment — but first, frances read reports on the dry weather in the uk. a dog locked in a sweltering hot car, rescued by police in the nick of time. come on. panting it's now making a good recovery, but underestimating the heat can pose the most danger to humans and animals. wildlife charities say hedgehog populations are struggling, coming out in the day to try to find water. and in the fields the grass cattle would usually eat has dried out. leaves have shrivelled, with yields down 20%. fortunately, we've got a yield, but unfortunately we haven't got the size of potatoes we need, because these potatoes should all be that size. and far too many are that size. and so therefore, that's where the lost yield is. of course, some are making the most of the hot weather, but extreme heat warnings have been issued to protect people from the risks. this week's amber stat

but one more day of that extreme heat and the met office weather warning which extends all the way upngland and into eastern areas of wales. it is valid until midnight tonight, the heat uncomfortable for many, of course. some thunderstorms around today but wet weather out towards northern ireland and scotland, some flashes of lightning already, but for most, the heat and sunshine continues, high cloud in the south, temperatures for some could get as high as 34—35. 0vernight tonight, still warm and uncomfortable for sleeping. some showery rain in western wales and the south—west of england, otherwise dry, temperatures dipping to the mid— to high teens for many. so, a warm start again tomorrow morning. but more showers around on monday, the thunderstorms particularly across england and wales will be hit and miss, some places are staying dry. quite high rainfall totals could lead to some localised surface water flooding. now on bbc news, it's the future of cars. applause hello and welcome to the science museum. i am kevin fong and this is the engineers: the future of cars. i am in the in

an extreme heat amber warning from the met office is currently in place for central and southern englandwales — which means there are possible impacts on health, transport and infrastructure. 0ur wales correpondent, tomos morgan, reports from barry. a blaze in sussex. the grass scorched in essex. and in durham, rare footage of a dust devil, essentially a small tornado of dust, another consequence of the heat. this extraordinary period of dry weather in which some areas of the uk have gone over a0 days without rain has made some parts of the land bone dry, dead and at serious risk of fires and now with several reservoirs at record lows, a drought has been officially declared. this is now moving — has been officially declared. ti 3 is now moving beyond your has been officially declared. ti 1 is now moving beyond your normal dry summer into something where water is scarce. water supplies are safe for everyone here at home but it means there is not enough water for the environment, farming and people at home. , , ., home. scientists say we need above averaue home. scientists say we need abov

touring the met office today, the resilience minister said we'll all be opted in from the start., particularly, for example, if there's a wildfire or if there's a flood risk coming, that we think it is — the case is made for us to make sure that everybody has the information. and then in future, if they don't want it, they can just opt out. can you believe it's raining?! it's amazing, isn't it? on the somerset levels, briony sadler�*s home was severely flooded in 2014. eight years later, the weather is just as unpredictable. what does she make of the new warning system? let me show you some idea of what it's going to be like. it looks like this and sounds like this. it's quite a formidable sound. it's not a nice text message sound, is it? she wasn't against the alerts, but in this area, she said people looked out for each other. it's all about community, isn't it? it's all about helping your neighbour, helping each other, you know, sorting yourself out and then giving a bit of time back to other people. of course, by the time an alert has been sent, it's too late to prevent a maj

the met office hasissued the channel coast. of rain perhaps falling in just an hour inches of rain perhaps falling in justan hourand inches of rain perhaps falling in just an hour and some places could see as much as 100 million metres of rain for the day is through. some showers here. a bank of cloud generally through england and wales, and the best sunshine this afternoon looks likely to be in eastern scotland and parts of northern ireland. not as warm, 14 to 18 the hive. we get some sunshine despite the risk of showers, 25 not out of the risk of showers, 25 not out of the question in the south—east. some of those showers tend to ease away through the night, with a bit more of a breeze picking up in the north—west and some showers clinging on to what pacing coast of scotland. temperatures low to mid teens first thing on thursday. thursday sees the breeze continuing to strengthen as weather fronts start to put in from the atlantic, tied into this area of low pressure. an increasing risk of showers, some heavy, and eventually m

the ongoing dry weather has prompted an extreme heat amber warning from the met office.ently in place for parts of wales, central and southern england and — which means there are possible impacts on health, transport and infrastructure. here's tomos morgan. a blaze in sussex. the grass scorched in essex. and in durham, rare footage of a dust devil — essentially a small tornado of dust — another consequence of the heat. this extraordinary period of dry weather in which some areas of the uk have gone over a0 days without rain has made some parts of the land bone dry, dead and at serious risk of fires — and now with several reservoirs at record lows, a drought has been officially declared. this is now moving beyond your normal dry summer into something where water is scarce and difficult. water supplies are safe for everyone here at home but it means there's not enough water for the environment, farming and people at home. scientists say we need above average rainfall in september and october to get back to normal levels, yet the met office is predicting warm weather for th

, the french met office, announced it was their driestjuly on record, notjust dry but also very hot asweek compared with the weak and fresh air in the north—west slowly pushing end up at the time being, it brings outbreaks of rain and drizzle for some but staying very humid as well. the biggest changes will not be until

in fact, there's now a met office amber weather warning in force for extreme heat.wales too. but it's not hot everywhere. weather fronts out towards the north—west of scotland, outbreaks of rain here, it's cooler and it's cloudier, but for most of us, blue sky and sunshine. temperatures again likely to peak at 26—28 celsius for aberdeenshire. for northern ireland, maybe 33 or 34 celsius for central southern england and the midlands. 0vernight tonight, those weather fronts continues out towards the north and west. for most of us, clear skies. some mist and low cloud for eastern—facing coasts and temperatures may not drop below 19 or 20 degrees for south—eastern wales and the south coast of england. a warm, unomfortable night's sleep and a head start on those temperatures tomorrow. just watch out because there may be some cloud lapping onshore for north sea—facing coasts. hello this is bbc news. iam i am lewis vaughanjones. a record numbers of patients were forced to wait more than 12 hours to be admitted to a&e at english hospitals injuly. an official drought may be

touring the met office today, the resilience minister said we'll all be opted in from the start.. and so vital is this information — particularly, for example, if there's a wildfire or if there's a flood risk coming — that we think the case is made for us to make sure that everybody has the information. and then, in future, if they don't want it, they can just opt out. can you believe it's raining?! oh, it's amazing, isn't it? on the somerset levels, bryony sadler�*s home was severely flooded in 2014. eight years later, the weather is just as unpredictable. what does she make of the new warning system? let me show you some idea of what it's going to be like. it looks like this and sounds like this... it's quite a formidable sound. it's not a nice text message sound, is it? she wasn't against the alerts, but in this area, she said people looked out for each other. it's all about community, isn't it? it's all about helping your neighbour, helping each other, you know, sorting yourself out and then giving a bit of time back to other people. of course, by the time an alert�*s been se

and a four—day amber extreme heat warning from the met office for parts of england and wales is due toortsday on the bbc news channel. just a couple of days after one international multi—sport event finished, here comes another, the commonwealth games have made way for the european championships in munich. blackpool is one of the most deprived towns in britain, but over the last few years it has seen a dramatic growth in children's homes. there are 39 children's homes in the town's two parliamentary constituencies and three—quarters of them were registered in the last five years, according to the latest 0fsted data. these newer facilities are often filled by children from outside the local area, some sent from as far away as london. sanchia berg reports. blackpool�*s been booming in the last two years, thanks to covid staycations, but behind the glitz of the resort, it's a different picture. it's one of the most deprived towns in england, with the highest death rate from drugs and the highest proportion of its own children in care. not the place for more vulnerable children. yet in rec

the hot weather and drought has had a met office issued highest alert forfire drought has had a met officeue cost of a disposable barbecue. firefighters say this huge blaze which tore across studland heath in dorset was almost certainly caused by picnickers trying to cook food in the tinder dry beauty spot. after battling the flames night, they found a disposable barbecue among the ashes. irate found a disposable barbecue among the ashes. ~ . , found a disposable barbecue among the ashes. ~ ., , ., ., ,, ., the ashes. we really are appealing to members _ the ashes. we really are appealing to members of— the ashes. we really are appealing to members of the _ the ashes. we really are appealing to members of the public- the ashes. we really are appealing to members of the public to - the ashes. we really are appealing i to members of the public to consider what they're doing and if you, if it is going to potentially certifier, try to avoid it if you possibly can. this field fire near chelmsford was one of 75 tackled by crews in essex in just 24 hours. it covered 91 acres and containing it req

the met office has forecasted more rains in the coming days — for which the province does not seem prepared networks has long been an issue. the government recently came into action and sent rescue teams to those stranded, but there are complaints that it was still unable to reach many of the women and children stranded in other far—flung parts of the province. air operations were started, as well, but their access has been limited due to heavy winds. just a few weeks ago, whether in most of the flood affected areas was around 45 celsius — but it drops to 27 celsius and goes even lower during the night. as a result, hundreds of people are spending their nights out in the open near their flooded and caved—in homes. the government has sped up the rescue and relief process, but the situation on the ground is likely to worsen in the coming days. saher baloch, bbc news, balochistan. let's turn to something more light—hearted now — that is, the tidalwave of celebrations across the uk after england's win in the women's euro's, which culminated in the last few hours in trafalgar square. queen eliza

this is the area for the met office amber warning of extreme heat all the way through to sunday. blue skies to start here. some mist and fog, but there will be changes. in the far north of scotland, still lots of cloud and more brightness at times through tomorrow. around the coasts of scotland and north—east england, we could see mist and low cloud lapped onshore. low 20s. elsewhere the temperature soaring once again. the peak heat in parts of the midlands up to 35 celsius during friday afternoon. saturday afternoon we take it up a degree or two, maybe 37, and a hot day for almost all but still some low cloud around eastern coast. i said there could be rain in the forecast, that is from sunday onwards. an area of low pressure developing could set of severe storms across parts of the uk sunday night and into the early part of next week. the ground is so dry that it could cause flooding issues and there is no guarantee everyone will see it. after a very warm day on sunday, the chance of some storms beyond but it will start to feel cooler by day. beyond but it will start to feel co

the met office extreme heat warning remains in force until the end of sunday.f sunday. there will be plenty of sunshine up and down the country. maybejust of sunshine up and down the country. maybe just an old isolated shower. there are your temperatures. high 20s in the north, low to mid 30s england and wales. an increasing chance of showers in northern ireland and scotland during the day. a few showers developing across central west in england and wales. another very hot day in the south. maybe a bit fresh across scotland and northern ireland. next week, taller and fresher and increasing chance of thundery showers. this is bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories: the acclaimed author sir salman rushdie suffers serious injuries after being stabbed on stage in the state of new york. his agent says he's on a ventilator and can't speak, and is likely to lose an eye. in other news: it's been revealed the search warrant for donald trump's florida home was partly based on suspicion of violations of the us espionage act. what europe's heatwave has done to the riv

the daily telegraph claims one spark could �*cause destruction�*, with the met office warning of an exceptionaldfires across much of southern england. and the yorkshire post shows a bridge emerging from a reservoir near ripponden as water levels fall, but claims yorkshire water isn't planning a hosepipe ban. the times splashes a new report from the policing watchdog, which says victims are being routinely failed being let down by the police�*s response to burglary, robbery and theft. and the express reports fears that a shortage of key medicines could be putting patients at risk, with many having to visit several chemists to get prescriptions. so, let's begin. energy firm threatened with new windfall tax. energy energy firm threatened with new windfall tax. energy companies energy firm threatened with new windfall tax. energy companies say fuel price rises are going to be told to increase investment or face higher taxes amid warnings of winter blackouts and national crisis in the cost—of—living. the business secretary was talking about crisis talks with the situation and really the treasuries t

the met office has issued a four—day amber extreme heat warning.much of england is having a serious impact on wildlife in rivers. they're particularly concerned about chalk rivers and streams, which support species such as salmon, kingfisher and otter. some are starting to dry up. water companies say hosepipe bans are put in place to help protect river habitats. helen briggs reports. you can normally swim in this part of the river anton, but now water levels are so low, you can wade across. and you can tell from the cool, clear water, we're in a chalk river — a rare and beautiful place that's home to wildlife such as trout, otters and kingfishers. how precious is this habitat, and how do we better protect this river and the wildlife in it? this habitat is really precious, and that's because it has been filtered through this chalk and then comes out very cool and clear. we see these beautiful river ecosystems. we've seen some trout today. i've also seen grayling here. there are salmon in some of our chalk streams, as well. this is our barrier reef o

five met police officers face a gross misconduct hearing in response to that case. ion of severe weather, and other life threatening events. the alerts which will look like this have recently been tested in east suffolk and there are plans for it to be rolled out across the uk. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. the two extremes of our changing climate. fires this summer made it hard to remember the floods of autumn and winter. the government believes using social media to warn us of a risk to life is too hit or miss. so it has tested this new alert system. it looks like this and sounds like this. these warnings are different because they're sent directly to phone masts and from there to every smartphone capable of receiving them. an estimated 85% of the population. that's where the atmosphere is more conducive to forcing weather events to happen. touring the met office today, the resilience minister said we'll all be opted in from the start. yes, you can opt out. the problem with getting people to opt in is that that becomes a bit hit and miss itself

the highest of the temperatures are in the area covered by the met office extreme heat warning, an amberwarningts expected — leeds, liverpool, down the way to the south coast. and it's this area, under high pressure, where we'll also see heat build elsewhere. but notice weather fronts very close to the north of scotland. this is your exception. here, through the night and into the morning, we'll have had some rain, temperatures not dropping away much. maybe a little bit fresher through scotland, northern ireland, parts of northern england, but a warmer night and start to thursday morning in the south. a few mist and fog patches clearing, dry and sunny for many, but across the western isles, 0rkney, shetland, the northwest highlands, rain will come and go through the day. 14—18 celsius here, but 27, 28 eastern scotland, 27 in parts of northern ireland, 35 degrees, potentially, to the south midlands, that heat continuing to build. now, as we go into thursday evening and overnight, more cloud, occasional rain or drizzle in the north of scotland. chance of a few mist and fog patches close to easter

there is that met office weather warning in force for extreme heat until the end of the day on sundaymuch of england, as far as the pennines and two eastern areas of wales. the heat is uncomfortable for many and of course dangerous asam. hasn't been hot eddie two these weather clouds running through the northwest of scotland and overnight tonight we will see more cloud feet in from the north sea into eastern coastal areas. elsewhere lots of clear skies. a warm and i to follow him a warm start to the day tomorrow. some temperatures particularly between coastal areas, temperatures particularly between coastalareas, perhaps temperatures particularly between coastal areas, perhaps the isle of wight again may not see temperatures drop below 19 or 20 celsius. already a head start on those temperatures for tomorrow. still a head start on those temperatures fortomorrow. still some a head start on those temperatures for tomorrow. still some cloud north sea facing co—2nd lap on shore at the time but elsewhere lots of blue sky and such i put up more sunshine tomorrow from mainland scotland, temp

of course the met office amber extreme heat warning remains in force for large parts of england and walesgain with those temperatures reaching 35, maybe 36 degrees in the hottest spots on saturday afternoon. widespread sunshine then throughout saturday, any low cloud and mist in scotland and north—east england will burn back to the coast, maybe a slight chance of a shower across the scottish hills, maybe snowdonia, otherwise most places dry. high 20s in the north, 30 to 35—36 degrees across england and wales. through saturday night it will stay dry for most, a bit of low cloud, mist and murk rolling back across eastern scotland, north—east england. temperature wise, again the low to mid teens in the north, 17—20 degrees further south, really could be quite warm and uncomfortable across the south coast of england. sunday we do it all again. it's a sunny start, mist and low cloud burning back to the coast but then a greater chance of showers and thunderstorms developing across northern ireland, scotland into the afternoon, maybe one or two across western england and wales later in the day.

the hot weather and drought conditions have led the met office to issue its highest alert forfire severity there is an "exceptional" risk of blazes spreading. will batchelor reports. the true cost of a disposable barbecue. firefighters say this huge blaze which tore across studland heath in dorset was almost certainly caused by picnickers trying to cook food on the tinder—dry beauty spot. after battling the flames all night, they found a disposable barbecue among the ashes. we really are appealing to members of the public to consider what you're doing. if it's going to potentially start a fire, try to avoid it this field fire near chelmsford was one of 75 tackled by crews in essex in 2a hours. it covered 91 acres, and containing it required the help of local farmers. if you were downwind you wouldn't have kept up with it running. luckily, the wind direction was away from the houses, and so it wasjust a question of stopping it spreading back towards the houses again, but when the wind changed direction, suddenly it would move towards you and, yes, it's frightening. in north london, this gra

the met office has also warned there's an "exceptional" risk of fires spreading in many places and waterve a drought could be declared soon. celestina 0lulode has this report. this is what emergency services want to prevent. tinderbox dry conditions helped cause these fires last month. london fire brigade said it needs the public�*s help to prevent grass fires. we're encouraging people not to use portable and disposable barbecues in public spaces, to think very carefully about how they dispose of cigarettes, to think about rubbish that's lying around, as well, particularly things like broken glass that can reflect the light from the sun and trigger a fire. an amber warning has been issued by the met office, which means vulnerable people's health could be impacted, and travel disrupted. we're being told to stay hydrated and eat foods with high water content, limit travel and exercise, and shower in cool water. there's no doubt it is a gorgeous day here on london's primrose hill, but look a little closer and you will see the desperately dry conditions that nature's had to contend with. tem

there is a met office amber weather warning in force.riod of hot and dry weather, ratherthan sustained period of hot and dry weather, rather than the record—breaking heat we saw injuly. temperatures could get a size 35 to 37 degrees later in the week. not that hard today but still very warm. 32 degrees west of london. 27 for eastern scotland and northern ireland. overnight tonight it is a warmer night than we saw last night. still some outbreaks of rain for north—west scotland, the western isles, temperature is down to the mid—teens. low cloud towards eastern coastal areas. that could stick around into tomorrow morning in patches. elsewhere, lots of blue sky and warm sunshine. temperatures are set to rise as high as 34, 30 and warm sunshine. temperatures are set to rise as high as 34,30 5 degrees on thursday. out towards the west midlands, may be central and southern england. towards the coast a sea breeze. more refreshing here. all of that hot air is coming in on the easterly breeze that will be towards eastern coastal areas. if we see